Inglewood Principal Is Ordered Off Campus After Run-In With Coach

Inglewood High School Principal Lawrence Freeman was ordered off campus Tuesday after he was accused of injuring the basketball coach in an argument.

It is the second time this year that Supt. George McKenna has told Freeman to leave the school.

Freeman, who has won both praise and criticism for his tough leadership style since becoming principal in 1984, angrily disputed Coach Vincent Combs’ charges and called the suspension an indignity that may push him towards retirement. Neither McKenna nor Combs could be reached for comment.

Freeman said the dispute began Tuesday when he reprimanded Combs in his office for not following his order to purchase trophies for members of the basketball team. An argument between the two men ensued, Freeman said, with Combs standing in the doorway and Freeman ordering him to leave. Freeman said Combs complained that he was injured when the principal pushed the door into his arm.

“He pushed the door, then I pushed the door,” Freeman said. “I asked him to leave eight times and he wouldn’t leave.”

Combs reported the incident to McKenna, who sent Freeman a letter later in the day ordering him off campus pending a meeting Wednesday morning in the district offices. Freeman said that he phoned in sick early Wednesday--which meant the meeting had to be postponed--because he was still distressed by the incident. “When you get angry you can make mistakes you’ll regret all your life,” he said.

“I can’t be treated like dirt,” Freeman said. “It’s demeaning for (McKenna) to pluck me off the campus and not give me a hearing. I just don’t think he can stand two top dogs on the block, and we’re both respected in education.”

Tuesday’s incident was the second time this school year that McKenna has ordered Freeman out of the high school. The two men clashed last September, only a few days after McKenna accepted the post of superintendent of the Inglewood Unified School District. Freeman was suspended for a week after he and Inglewood Adult School Principal John Rabun argued about overcrowding in adult school classes that were being held at Inglewood High School. In that incident, Freeman was accused of disrupting adult school classes.

Freeman, 67, a former Army officer, is known by students and teachers by the sometimes affectionate, sometimes disparaging nickname “Screamin’ Freeman.” He has been known to walk the grounds of his school blowing a whistle and lecturing students who violate strict dress and behavior rules. Supporters credit him with keeping Inglewood High free from gang activity and for establishing high expectations for students.

In 1986, he traded lawsuits with angry teachers who called him a dictator and said he had created a prison-like atmosphere at school. Some students agreed with the teachers, while others and their parents rose to Freeman’s defense.

On Wednesday, school board member Zyra McCloud, who heard about the incident from teachers, criticized McKenna for not immediately notifying board members after sending the principal home. “There is no excuse for the superintendent to take action against the principal without notifying the board,” she said.

While the incident was not widely known Wednesday, parent Sandra Mack said she would pull her son out of the school next year unless Freeman is returned.

“Once upon a time, Inglewood High School was not a desirable place to go to school,” Mack said. “After Mr. Freeman became principal, all of that changed.”